DOVER — Healthcare expert and patient advocate Betsy McCaughey, the former lieutenant governor of New York, spoke out against the Affordable Care Act at an event hosted by the Strafford County Republicans at the Cochecho Country Club Thursday night.

Addressing a crowd that included U.S. Senate candidate Bob Smith, U.S. House of Representatives candidate Frank Guinta and state gubernatorial candidate Andrew Hemingway, McCaughey said the nation was currently at a crucial turning point regarding health care policy.

“We are in the fight of our lifetimes,” McCaughey said. “Obama’s health care law shreds the U.S. Constitution.”

McCaughey argued the government had exercised too much control over the health care of its citizens, and shouldn’t be allowed to determine how to treat privately insured patients. She implored the crowd to exercise its collective voice in the upcoming midterm elections, saying they would provide the leadership to “take back” the Senate. McCaughey advocated reining in spending, the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and said she would support a president whose goal it was to defend and uphold the Constitution.

“The president promised he would solve the problems of the uninsured,” McCaughey said. “What he did was vastly expand Medicaid and eviscerate Medicare.”

McCaughey said one of her main points of contention is that she believes the law will have a negative effect on care for senior citizens.

“It’s like robbing grandma to spread the wealth,” McCaughey said.

A Ph.D. and former professor at Vassar College and Columbia, McCaughey’s book, “Beating ObamaCare, 2013,” attempts to break down the Affordable Care Act and what she sees as its shortcomings. She also founded the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths and wrote a book on the Constitution. She sternly criticized Obama for implementing a “dangerous” law.

“Defeating this law is the fight of our lifetimes,” McCaughey said. “Congress should take this law and put it in the paper shredder.”

Smith, Guinta and Hemingway each took a turn at the podium, with all three emphasizing the importance of establishing Republican control of Congress. First, Smith argued, the party needed to unite with common goals before turning their attention to debates with the Democrats.

“We are on a slippery slope,” Smith said. “This is a battle for the heart and soul of the Republican party.”

Hemingway, who plans to run as the state’s Republican candidate for governor, said he believes the “Live Free or Die” motto is less of a catchphrase than it is a way of life.

“It’s time we had a change of leadership,” Hemingway said. “It’s time to start putting forward substantive solutions.”

Guinta, who lost out to Rep. Carole Shea-Porter in 2012, said he plans to reclaim his House seat, and strongly criticized the country’s new health care policy.

“The Affordable Care Act is a disaster, something that we have been saying for four years,” Guinta said.